1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an image pickup information recognition system and more particularly to an image pickup information recognition system for collating a picked-up image acquired by an image providing source with an image based on a geographic information database, thereby acquiring precise image pickup information of the image providing source. The image pickup information refers to at least one of the image pickup position, the image pickup attitude, etc., of the picked-up image acquired by the image providing source.
2. Description of the Related Art
A geographic information database on which an image pickup information recognition system is founded includes geographic information superposed in a stratified manner from the features of the structures of roads, bridges, buildings, etc., to the attributes of the names and ages of residents further to the land use circumstances on the three-dimensional geographic space of a map. Using a map database and a mark image database forming parts of the geographic information database, it is made possible to photograph the surrounding image with a camera installed in a vehicle and collating the image with the mark image database, thereby estimating the current position of the vehicle. For example, FIG. 6 is a drawing to show an image pickup information recognition system in a related art and is a block diagram to show a mark image collating equipment for collating a location on the map with a location in the real world. In FIG. 6, numeral 101 denotes an image photographing section for photographing the surrounding image of a vehicle, numeral 102 denotes a current position estimation section for estimating the current position of the vehicle, numeral 103 denotes a mark image database system for storing mark images, numeral 104 denotes an image collating section for collating the image photographed by the image photographing section 101 with the mark image related to the estimated current position estimated by the current position estimation section 102, numeral 105 denotes a map collating section, numeral 106 denotes a map database system, numeral 107 denotes a route plan section, and numerals 108 and 109 denote input sections. The image pickup information recognition system in the related art described above corrects the estimated current position on the map in accordance with the collating result of the image collating section 104.
The mark image collating apparatus of the image pickup information recognition system in the related art is configured as described above and viewing a mark varies depending on the viewing direction of the mark and thus even the mark contained in the mark image database cannot always be collated and if a database is constructed so that the image can be collated with the mark image independently of the viewing way of the mark, the size of the database becomes huge and there is a fear of losing the practicality. In the image pickup information recognition system in the related art typified by the mark image collating apparatus, the image provider needs to provide a complete set of the devices from image photographing to collating and particularly for image collating and map collating, a large load is applied to a computer and thus the required apparatus becomes expensive and large-sized and leads to a heavy burden on the image provider; this is a problem.